Harness-leveling mechanism for looms



Nov. 27, 1928.

E. R. HOLMES HARNESS LEVELING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Q90. 12, 1927 fm e/zzar E/r/o e A? ZZZ/m9; 5 AWM-EFM fitter/rays- Nov. 27; 1928.

E. R. HOLMES HARNESS LEVELING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed Dec. 12, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1/21 60 2 0: I/fi/V' e A. 170%:

Patented Nov. 27, 1928.

FATENT OFFIQE.

ELBREDGE It. HOLMES, OI? WORCESTER,

PEASSAOHUSETIS, ASSIGNOR TO CROMPTON &

KNOXVLES LGOlVI WORKS, 0F VIGROE$TER, MASSACI-IU$ETTS, A CORPORATION OF .MASSACHUSETTS.

HARNESS-LEVELING IVEECI'IANIQIVI FOB, LOOIKS.

Application filed December 12, 1927.

This invention relates to improvements in harness leveling mechanism. for looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a device of this type which shall prevent too rapid a descent of certain of the harness frames but at the same time to re tain the usual form of connection between the dobby knives and the rocker arm.

Occasionally it becomes necessary in the operation of a loom to take out number of picks which have been laid after a mispick and it is desirable under these circumstances to bring the harness "frames to a common position so that the weaver may remove the faulty picks of filling; with least effort. There are two common methods or" leveling: the harnesses, namely, the so-calied leveling up and so-called leveling down. The leveling up is usually the simpler method but is objectionable in that the warp threads interfere with the insertion of the shuttle in the shuttle box. The so-called leveling down is not attended with this fault as the warp th eads are all. low enough to permit the shuttle to be moved into and out of the shut tle box. lvly present invention relates to this latter type wherein the harnesses are all leveled down. Such a form of mechanism is shown in patent Ryon No. 772,180 and also in a later patent to the same inventor No. 989,061. the earlier of these patents a regularly oscillating segment connnunicatcs inovenrnt to one or the (lobby knives by means of a hook and at the time of leveling down this hook is raisedout of engagement with the segment. The harness frames which are in raised position will thereupon be reeased to fall instantly and subject the corresponding warp threads to strains which may result in their breakage. This quick descent of the harness frames may be prevented in part by a friction check, but it is necessary for the operator to have manual control of the mechanism throughout the downward movement of the harness frames in order to prevent breakage or the warp. It is an important object of my present invention to provide a mechanism similar to this first named Ryon patent, wherein the device which lowers the harness includes a scroll cam to cooperate with a part moving with the bar- Serial No. 239,326.

ness frames so that the descent of the latter will be gradual, even through the weaver should release the device immediately after initiating the leveling movement.

it a further object of the invention to associatewith the scroll a spring tending normally to hold said scroll in normal position but adjustable as to the pressure which it exerts so that the Weaver may stop the harnesses in any intermediate position durin the lowering arocess. This may some be desirable where a slight separation of the threads is desirable, especially when a great number of threads are present in the warp and they would be crowded together it all were lying in the same plane.

l ith. these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, invention resides in the combination and arrau oment of parts hereinafter described and set rorth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein I have shown a convenient embodiment of my invention,

1 is an end elevation of a dobby pat tern mechanism showing my invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1 showing the device in normal operative position,

Fig. 8 a View similar to Fig. 2 but will the device shown in leveling down position,

Fi 4 is a substantially vertical section on line l--l oi 2,

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line 5 5 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 6 isan enlarged section on line 66 of Fig. i, and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of certain parts shown in Figs. 2 and 3 with the parts in the position they assume immediately after releasing and during the manual operation of the previously referred to scroll.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1. 2 and 3 l have shown a device as associated with a dobby having a frame 10 in which reciprocate in opposite directions but in horizontal planes upper and lower hook knives 11 and 12, res pectively. Said knives cooperate with upper and lower hooks 13 and 14, respectively, connected to dobby back levers 15-attached to the harness jacks 16. As shown in Fig. 2 one of the harness jacks is in left hand position to hold the harness frame 17 raised by means of harness connections 18 while another dobby jack is in right hand position to per mit the corresponding harness frame 19 connected thereto by harness connections 20 to be in low position. During the normal operation of the loom the knives 11 and 12 which are actuated by upper and lower links 21 and 22, respectively, will be reciprocated in the well known manner. The matter thus far described forms no part of my present invcntion and operates in the usual manner to raise and permit lowering of the harn s frames to form the various sheds called for by the pattern mechanism not shown.

My present invention relates more particularly to the manner of actuating the links 21 and 22 and as shown herein 1 provide means for keeping the lower link 22 permanently connected to a driving rod 30. Said rod is attached to an arm 31 keyed to a shaft 32 and said rod is reciprocated by mechanisn' not shown so that the shaft 32 rocks first to the right and then to the left, receiving an oscillation in one direction for each pick of the loom. Keyed to said shaft 32 at the right hand end thereof as shown in Fig. 1 is a lever 33 having the lower end opera-' tively connected as" at 34 to the link 22. Said lever 33 has an arm 35 extending to the left and having journaled therein for free rotation a shaft 36 which as shown in Fig. 1 extends across the dobby. The left end of shaft 36 is journaled in arm 31.

The upper link 21 is connected to a lever 40 as at 41 and said lever 40 has a depending arm 412 from which projects laterally as viewed in Fig. 1 a lug 43. As shown in Fig. 2 the right hand side of the lug is normally held against a projection 14. preferably cast integral with the lever In order to cause oscillation of the lever 10 as the shaft rocks back and forth I provide an arm 45 having a split hub 16 through which extends a bolt 47 by means of which said arm 45 may be secured in angularly adjusted position on the shaft 36. As shown more clearly in Fig. 7 a latch 48 is pivoted to the arm 15 as at 49 and said latch is provided with a notch 50 normally receiving a lug 51 cast integral with the arm 35 of the lever 33. A compression spring 52 is interposed between the hub of the arm 45 and said latch 18 and tends normally to hold the notch 50 and lug 51 in operative driving relationship.

Located at each side of the dobby and keyed to the shaft 36 shown in Fig. 4 are scroll cam members 60, each having a driving hook end 61 as shown in Fig. 2 formed to engage the left hand side of the lug 13. Said scroll members are provided with a spiral cam face 62 of the general form shown in Fig. 2 and move with the arm 45, both the scrolls and said arms being secured to the shaft 36.

By the mechanism thus far described oscillation of the shaft 32 will cause reciprocation of the lower links 22 by reason of the direct connections 3 1 and the upper links 21 will be given opposite reciprocating movements by reason of the mechanism supported by shaft 36. h'iovement of said upper links 0 the right is caused by engagement of the projection 14- with the right iand side of the lugs 13 and movement of said upper links to the left caused by engagement of the hook 61 with the left hand side of said lugs 43. Said scrolls derive their motion from the arm 35 and particularly the lug 51 which normally has driving engagement with the latch 48, the latter causing movement of the shaft The mechanism which effects the leveling down of the harnesses includes a drum 7O loosely mounted on one end of shaft 36 and held aga nst longitudinal movement by col lar 71 secured to said shaft as shown in Fig. 4:. Said drum is peripherally grooved to receive a cable 2 which may extend through an opening 73 in the drum and have the end thereof lrnotted as at 7 to be held against misplacement with respect to the drum. The drum is provided with a web 75 in which is a substantially fan-shaped opening 76 de fined by two walls 77 and 78 formed on the right and left hand sides respectively of the opening 7 6. The arm 15 is provided with a lateral extension 79 projecting into the opening 76, said projection and wall 7 7 being held normally in engagement by means of a tension spring 80 interposed between the arm 1-5 and the drum as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The drum has a pin 81 extending from one side thereof to engage a tail 82 of the latch 13. Under normal conditions with the parts as shown in Fig. 2 the pin 81 is out of engagement with tail 82 or as least permits driving connection between the latch and the lug 51.

On the left hand side the (lobby as viewed in Fig. 1 I provide means for normally holding the scroll in the position shown in F 2, said means including a casing mounted on the shaft 36. Located in the casing is a clock spring 91 having one end secured to shaft 36 as at 92 and having the other end secured to the casing as at 93. The effect of said spring 91 is to tend to turn the shaft 36 in a left hand direction as viewed in Fig. 2, thus holding the scroll against the left hand side of the lug 43. The casing is free to rotateon shaft but is held against rotation by a screw 94: threaded into arm 31 and having an enlarged head 95 to lie over and press down on the casing to clamp the latter against the arm 31. By loosening the screw 94 the position of the casing may be varied to tighten or slacken the spring 91.

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Hill

It is to be understood that each side of the dobby is provided with a scroll 60, and lug 43 with associated parts. There is but one drum and one arm 45 located on the front of the dobby and also there is but one spring 91. The rear ends of the knives 11 and 12 are connected to arms 33 and 40 which are slightly longer than their corresponding arms 33 and 40, respectively, as is usual in dobby construction.

hen it is desiredto level the harnesses the operator will pull the cable 72 and as the drum rotates on shaft 36 it will move in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, the pin 81 engaging the tail 82 to move the latch away from the lug 51 and wall 77 moving away from extension 79. As soon as the latch is entirely disconnected from the arm 35 the wall 78 will engage the extension 79 and a continued pulling of cable 72 will cause further rotation of shaft 36 with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 7. The scrolls which are secured to the shaft 36 will also move in a right hand direction so that the lugs 43 will be permitted to move toward the shaft 36, such motion being induced by the downward pull of the raised harnesses 17. At the same time the clock spring 91 is placed under additional strain. As the lugs 43 move toward the shaft 36 the levers 40 and 40 will move from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3, the corresponding upper knife having a movement to the right so that the harness jacks positioned thereby may move to the right. This operation permits all of the harness frames to be placed in low position so that the operator may remove the defective picks or perform any other needed operation which may be aided by the leveling down of the harnesses. As the parts come to the position shown in Fig. 3 the spring 80 will act to reestablish normal connection be tween wall 77 and projection 79 so that the pin 81 will no longer control the tail 82 of the latch. WVhen the pick-out is completed and the parts are still in the position shown in Fig. 3 the weaver will turn the loom over and the driving mechanism for the dobby will be in such a position that the levers 33 and 33 will move to the left so that shaft 36 will be raised, thus increasing the distance between said shaft and the lugs 43. As this distance increases the spring 91 will be effective to turn the cam or scroll in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3 and when the levers 33 and 33 have arrived at their extreme left hand position the parts will be restored to the position shown in Fig. 2 with the latch in engagement with the lug 51.

Should it be found that the lugs 43 are not in proper position with respect to the hook ends 61 of the scrolls due to wearing or any other cause the arm 45 may be moved angularly with respect to the shaft 36 so that the latch. and lug 51 will lock just at the time that lug 43 comes to the position shown in Fig. 2 with respect to the hooked ends 61, thereby preventing any looseness of the parts.

I find that it is possible to release the cable 72 immediately after the latch 45 has been released from the lug 51, the character of the scrolls and their faces 62 preventing a sudden descent of the harnesses. I have found that by creating proper tension on the spring 91 that it is possible to stop the harnesses at any intermediate position. It is to be understood that the raised harnesses which are held by the upper knife tend normally to move downwardly and when the latch is in dis connecting position this tendency is resisted by the spring 91 and the faces 62 of the scrolls so that by tightening spring 91 sufliciently the harness frames may be stopped and left at any intermediate position without further attention on the part of the operator.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a comparatively simple leveling down motion for harness mechanism so designed as to prevent quick descent of the harness independently of any attention on the part of the operator. It will further be seen that by adjusting the spring 91 I am able to hold the harnesses without further attention on the part of the weaver at any intermediate position. It will also be seen that the operating parts are supported by and move around the main rocker shaft 32 and therefore move through a smaller arc and are subjected to less disturbance than would be the case if the breaking of the connection took place in one or the other of the links 21 or 22 as is the case with the second of the previously mentioned patents to Ryon. I

Having thus described my invention it will be apparent that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a harness evening motion for a loom having harness levers and a pair of actuators reciprocating in opposite directions to impart motion to the levers, a pair of driving levers pivoted about the same axis and each having an arm connected to one of the actuators, means normally locking the levers together to cause them to move in unison to move the actuators, a scroll cam pivotally mounted with respect to and supported by one of the driving levers, an extension projecting from the other driving lever and normally engaging that portion of the scroll cam farthest from the axis of the latter, and manually operated means mounted on the first named driving lever to unlock said driving levers, said manually operated means and scroll cam being secured together so that movement of the manually operated means effects movement of the scroll cam, the weight of the harnesses. tending to move the second named driving lever to levers pivoted about the same axis and each having an arm connected to one of the actuators, means normally locking the levers together to cause them to move in unison to move the actuators, a shaft rotatably mounted on one of the driving levers, a (ll'llll'llOOSGlY mountedthereto, a cable attached to the drum by which the latter may be manually rotated, a scroll cam secured to the shaft and movable with the drum, an extension projecting from the other of the driving levers to have driving contact with that portion of the scroll cam farthest from the shaft, and means to unlocksaid levers when the drum is rotated, the projection from the second driving lever following the cam as the drum is rotated to lower the harnesses operatively connected to the second driving lever.

In a harness evening motion for a loom having harness levers and a pair of actuators reciprocating in opposite directions to impart motion tot-he levers, a pair a driving levers pivoted about the same axis and each having an arm connected to one of the actuators, means normally locking the lovers together to cause them to move in unison to move the actuators, a shaft rotatably mounted with respect to one of the driving levers, a drum mounted on the shaft, a scroll cam mounted on the shaft and movable with the cam, a projection extending from the second driving member and lying between the first named driving lever and that part of the scroll cam which is farthest from the shaft, and means to unlock the driving levers and to cause angular movement of the scroll. cam when the drum is rotated, whereby the projection extending from the second named driving leverwill move toward the shaft along the scroll cam to lower the harnesses operatively connected to the second named driving lever.

.4. In a harness evening motion for a loom having harness levers and a pair of actuators reciprocating in opposite directions to imcam which is farthest from the shaft, and

means operated by the drum as the latter rotates first to unlock said driving levers and to thereafter cause the drum and cam to rotate together, whereby the projection of the secondnamed driving lever will move along the scroll cam toward the shaft/to lower the harnesses operatively connected to the second named driving lever.

5. In a harness evening motion for a loom having harness levers and a pair of actuators reciprocating in opposite directions to impart motion' to the levers, a pair of driving levers pivoted about the same axis and each having an arm connected to one of the actuators, means normally locking the levers together to cause them to move in unison to move the actuators, a shaft supported by and rotatablewith respect to one of the driving levers, a drum loosely mounted on said shaft, a scroll cam secured to said shaft and rotating therewith, a projection extending from the second driving lever and located between the first named driving lever and that part of the scroll cam which is farthest from the shaft, means to first unlock the driving members as the drum rotates and then to cause rotation of the scroll cam, whereby the projection of the second driving lever may follow the cam and move toward the shaft, and yielding means to resist movement of the scroll cam in the direction which permits iovement of the extension toward the shaft carried by the first named driving lever.

In a harness evening motion for a loom having harness levers and a pair of actuators reciprocating in opposite directions to impart motion to the levers, a pair of driving levers pivoted about the same axis and each having an arm connected to one of the actuators, means normally locking the levers together to cause them to move in unison to move the actuators, a shaft supported by and rotatable with respect to one of the driving levers, a drum loosely mounted on said shaft, a scroll cam secured to said shaft and rotating therewith, a projection extending from the second driving lever and located between the first named driving lever and that part of the scroll cam which is farthestfrom the shaft, means to first unlock the driving members as the drum rotates and then to cause rotation of the scroll cam, whereby the projection of the second driving lever may follow the cam and move toward the shaft. and yielding means to resist movement of the scroll cam in the direction which permits movement of the extension toward the shaft carried by the first named driving lever, said yielding means being connected to the'shaft.

7 In a harness evening motion for a loom having harness levers and a pair of actuators reciprocating in opposite directions to impart motion to the levers, a pair of driving levers pivoted about the same axis and each having an arm connected to one of the actuators, means normally locking the levers together to cause them to move in unison to move the actuators, a shaft supported by and rotatable with respect to one of the driving members, a drum rotatable freely on the shaft, a scroll cam secured to the shaft, a projection extending from the second driving lever and located between the first named driving lever and that portion of the scroll cam which is farthest from the shaft, means to unlock the driving levers, means operative by the rotation of the drum to cause rotation of the shaft and scroll cam, the extension moving along the scroll cam toward the shaft to lower the harnesses connected operatively to the firstnamed lever, and resilient means operatively connected to the shaft to resist said movement of the scroll cam.

8. In a harness evening motion for a loom having harness levers and a pair of actuators reciprocating in opposite directions to impart motion to the levers, a pair of driving levers pivoted about the same axis and each having an arm connected to one of the actuators, means normally locking the levers together to cause them to move in unison to move the actuators, a shaft supported by and rotatable with respect to one of the driving members, a drum rotatable freely on the shaft, a scroll cam secured to the shaft, a projection extending from the second driving lever and located between the first named driving lever and that portion of the scroll cam which is farthest from the shaft, means to unlock the driving levers, means operative by the rotation of the drum to cause rotation of the shaft and scroll cam, the extension moving along the scroll cam toward the shaft tolower the harnesses connected operatively to the first named lever, resilient means operatively connected to the shaft to resist said movement of the scroll cam, and means to vary the pressure exerted by the resilient means, whereby the driving levers may be arrested in any desired angular relationship with the extension in contact with the scroll cam.

9.- In a harness evening motion for a loom having harness levers and a pair of actuators reciprocating in opposite directions to impart motion to the levers, a pair of driving levers pivoted about the same axis and each having an arm connected to one of the actuators, means normally locking the levers together to cause them to move in unison to move the actuators, a shaft supported by and rotatable with respect to one of the driving members, a drum rotatable freely on the shaft, a scroll cam secured to the shaft, a projection extending from the second driving lever and located between the first named driving lever and that portion of the scroll cam which is farthest from the shaft, means to unlock the driving levers, means operative by the rotation of the drum to cause rotation of the shaft and scroll cam, the extension moving along the scroll cam toward the shaft to lower the harnesses connected operatively to the first named lever, resilient means operatively connected to the shaft to resist said movement of the scroll cam, and means to vary the pressure exerted by the resilient means, whereby the driving levers may be arrested in any desired angular relationship with the extension in contact with the scroll cam, said resilient means including a spirally wound spring having one end operatively connected to the shaft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

ELBR'IDGE R. HOLMES. 

